Resume writing mistakes that ruin your chances

Listen. Is that your phone not ringing? And after sending out 100 resumes, each of them four pages long, powder puffed, enveloped in coral green and sealed with a wax stamp? Maybe it’s time to take stock of that all-important document, and make sure it’s not stumbling around out there with its figurative foot in its mouth. Here’s 10 kisses of death, classic mistakes made in writing a job resume that have been known to keep phones from ringing.

1) Missing Contact Information

You’d be surprised how many people leave off their phone number on a job resume, or ignore the opportunity to include an email address in the heading. And on that latter point, make sure your email address is stable, long term, and professional sounding. Skip the one you use with your friends, PartyGirl@loadsofun.com, and opt instead for something that won’t raise eyebrows.

2) Too Long

If your job resume is over two pages, you’d better be a world-class CEO with instant name recognition. Then again, if you meet that description, you can get by with a single page, can’t you? Regardless of your real or imagined worth to a company, limit your job resume to two pages max, one page ideally. With regards to all the valuable ‘stuff’ you’re leaving off the job resume, be happy you’ll have something to talk about during the interview.

3) Over The Top Design

Ignore your impulse to write a white-text job resume on black paper, or include a scratch-and-sniff perfume spot on the page. Limit your font selection to one or two. Use the traditional and popular New Times Roman if you prefer lettering with a serif, or consider Arial, Helvetica or Verdana if you want a clean, more modern san serif font. Go easy on the bold and the underlining. And limit your paper selection to white or beige with a weight of 22 or 24 lb. Black type.

4) Misspellings; Poor Grammar

Nothing signals inattention to detail like a misspelled word on a resume. The job resume, the one document on which you intend to present yourself to your ideal company, and you’ve misspelled achievemints. Well, you won’t be adding to your list of achievemints with that company.